On March 11, University President John J. DeGioia announced the appointment of James J. O’Donnell to the position of Provost, effective July 1. O’Donnell will replace current Provost Dorothy Brown, who announced her retirement in August.
DeGioia described the Provost as the senior academic officer for the main campus whose authority ranges from oversight of the deans to issues relating to admissions, financial aid and student life.
“[O’Donnell] is the very best person to provide leadership for us in the future. We are exceptionally fortunate,” DeGioia said.
O’Donnell is currently a professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as the university’s Vice Provost for Informational Systems and Computing.
O’Donnell described Georgetown as a community he is proud to be part of. “I’m happy to be here. I want to do the job on a personal basis ? not just disappear in administrative offices,” he said.
At Penn, O’Donnell has actively participated in student life, including living in a residence hall for the past six years.
In his new position, O’Donnell said that he will seek to increase Georgetown’s influence in national affairs. Universities should provide a constant source of ideas and act as a vehicle for change in society, he said.
“We could make ourselves a lot more relevant,” he said.
O’Donnell characterized Georgetown’s future as a time for growth following a “restored sense of financial equilibrium.” According to O’Donnell, this new sense of financial security occurred as a result of the privatization of the clinical, day-to-day operations at the Georgetown Hospital.
O’Donnell identified his other priorities as continuing efforts to build the faculty and the student body and improving technology.
At Penn O’Donnell worked to integrate technology into the classroom, serving on several national technological committees. He said that he views computers and other technology as a means to improve education, but that the goal is not to simply acquire technology.
O’Donnell said that he hopes that the future is a gradual process of change.
“We have to make sure we set goals and pursue them. We have more ambitions than we can adequately process, but we must challenge ourselves within the realm of human possibility,” he said.
